Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Announces Monthly Dividend of $0.13

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, April 3rd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.133 per share by the investment management company on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Stellus Capital Investment has raised its dividend by an average of 13.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Stellus Capital Investment has a dividend payout ratio of 95.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Stellus Capital Investment to earn $1.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 94.7%.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM opened at $14.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.96 million, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12 month low of $12.19 and a 12 month high of $15.40.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The investment management company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $28.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.20 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 16.56% and a return on equity of 14.01%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCM has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $12.50 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Stellus Capital Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in private middle-market companies. It invests through first lien, second lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt financing, often with a corresponding equity investment. The fund prefers to invest in US and Canada.